Japan's head coach admits he hopes to build a "more friendly" relationship with Ange Postecoglou going forwards.

Hajime Moriyasu insists he wants to strike up a better relationship with the Celtic manager with so many Japanese players in the Hoops squad now.

Moriyasu snubbed both Kyogo and Reo Hatate from his most recent international squad but included Daizen Maeda. 

The boss pointed to the quality of the league the players were plying their trade in for their omissions from his player pool

Postecoglou felt the pair could have been in the squad though he accepted it was Moriyasu's call.

Now Moriyasu has explained that he hopes to pop in and have a look at the Celtic stars.

He said: "The coach is always welcoming, he tells me about the current situation of the Japanese players and I receive useful information for the benefit of the national team.

"I hope we can build more friendly relations. He is a coach that I myself respect, so if there is an opportunity to talk to him, I would like to go."

Meanwhile, Postecoglou has provided an injury update on star midfielder Hatate.

The 25-year-old has not featured for the Hoops since before the international break after going off injured during the 3-1 win over Hibernian.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou issues Reo Hatate injury update

Hatate has eight goals and nine assists in 38 games for the Scottish champions so far this season.

And Postecoglou has given some insight into when the playmaker might be back in action. 

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "No real change from last week. All the boys who missed out last week will miss again.

"All of them are sort of working their way back to being involved in the next week or so.

"At the moment, it is pretty much the status quo."

Glasgow Times:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!